Major areas of focus for this year’s Gulfood Manufacturing in Dubai have been unveiled including an industry 4.0 tech summit, a buyers’ programme, and a wide range of equipment from across the sector, including confectionery and bakery systems.

As its organisers explain, exhibitors from a total of 60 countries are expected to showcase the latest industry developments at the event, which is being staged from November 6-8, boasts a range of features that put it firmly in the realm of future forecasting, trend tracking and sector education.

Four key features – a ‘Big Buyers’ programme, where up to 2,000 buyers are hosted; innovation demos, which will provide deep insights into artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and robotics; Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards, designed to inspire and reward process innovations, and a probing FoodTech Summit – have been integrated to strengthen the event’s position as the vanguard of F&B transformation.

“The breadth of food production technology is so wide that the industry requires a multi-offering platform showcasing advanced manufacturing,” said Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, exhibitions and events, DWTC. “Suppliers from around the world have their eyes fixed on the Middle East, where cross-sector demand continues to climb. Regional producers are now scaling up and utilising higher grade technology to meet Industry 4.0 demands. The Gulfood Manufacturing 2018 programme has adopted a multi-audience approach that speaks to both producers and suppliers.”

Major conferences

The Gulfood Manufacturing conference series, under its new identity “FoodTech Summit”, aims to set the agenda for the industry, with a broad spread of focus sessions on upcoming trends. Sessions will include a focus on the ‘Factory of the Future’ and a look at how Industry 4.0 – or the ‘fourth Industrial Revolution – is redefining the food and beverage manufacturing and processing industry. The talks will pose challenging compelling questions and suggest steps that will help keep the industry relevant in a technology-packed digital era.

On the show floor, visitors will find an exhibition that continues to outperform expectations. By homing in on individual areas of relevance, Gulfood Manufacturing now hosts five dedicated sectors – ingredients, processing, packaging, automation and controls, and supply chain solutions – to improve the experience for both buyer and seller, so both can make better use of visit times.

Together the five sectors will span 80,000 square meters of space across 16 halls and showcase solutions from more than 1,600 local, regional and international industry service providers from 60 countries, as well as tens of thousands of visitors.

Also among the many exhibitors will be Ishida, the Japanese weighing, packing and inspection solutions business , which has dubbed the event “by far the best food manufacturing and packaging show in the Middle East”. Having participated at Gulfood Manufacturing since its inception in 2014, the company returns in 2018 with a product portfolio including x-ray inspection systems and its Sentinel line monitoring software that allows manufacturers to optimise productions lines remotely and prevent faults from occurring. The firm plans to use the wide-reaching appeal of Gulfood Manufacturing to target conversions in Turkey, Egypt, the wider African continent, India, Pakistan and Central Europe.

“We are seeing a rise in regional demand for convenience and ready-to-eat foods. For manufacturers to remain competitive and maximise the opportunities offered by this growth, it is important to automate processes to reduce costs, minimise product waste and increase packing speeds and overall line efficiencies,” explained Torsten Giese, Marketing Manager – PR & Exhibitions, Ishida Europe.

“Data is going to play a starring role in the future of food production. The entire production process will be mapped digitally and analysed in real time while big data and machine learning enables processes to be continually optimised, quality standards to be raised and heightened predictive maintenance for all connected equipment to avoid any loss of output or unscheduled downtime, which can have negative consequences for a food production business.”

“Any manufacturer wanting to stay competitive should be working to build up a smart factory and making use of big data solutions. Ishida specialises in this area and our stand at Gulfood Manufacturing will feature the latest developments in how we help our customers with their food packing automation,” added Giese.

The Innovation demos will be an early alert system for the industry’s future with participants taking in examples of robots working among humans at production lines, and high-speed machines with capacity to churn out bags at 200 units per minute. Participants will include some of the 2,000 pre-qualified, C-Level management attendees from across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia being hosted through the show’s expansive ‘Big Buyer’ programme, which feeds investment appetites.

The Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards will recognise and reward best practices and innovation within the food manufacturing industry value chain. The awards will be judged by an international panel of experts representing food processing and packaging industries, graphics experts, equipment suppliers, academia, trade press, governmental, environmental and trade organisations.

Meanwhile, four new distribution partners have been appointed to market Palsgaard’s emulsifier and stabiliser solutions across the Middle East ahead of the company’s appearance at Gulfood. They will carry the full portfolio of the company’s products ranges including for bakery, dairy, and ice cream, including Atom Fzco representing the company in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and United Arab Emirates.

In addition, Palsgaard will be represented by Alawsaj General Trading Co. Ltd in Iraq, Gusto will be the firm’s agent in Qatar, and Brenntag Saudi Arabia will be the firm’s distribution contact in Saudi Arabia.

Cai Clemen Christensen, Palsgaard’s director of sales for the Middle East, said: “We’re excited about the bright prospects for our ingredients in the Middle East. There is growing demand among food manufacturers across the Gulf region for sustainable and innovative ingredient solutions. Our emulsifiers and stabilisers are perfectly aligned with this trend and our new distribution partners will ensure they are available in more Middle Eastern countries than ever before.”